Today (17 January) a two day conference entitled "E-Energy – Smart Energy made in Germany" begins in the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi). Over 350 national and international experts from the fields of politics, business and science will be attending the conference, at which the results of the support program "E-Energy – Smart Energy made in Germany" will be presented. The objective of the joint programme of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and the Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) is to systematically improve Germany's electricity supply by means of information and communication technologies (ICT) and equip it for a high percentage of renewable energies.
In six selected model regions, over a four-year period, various experts from the fields of ICT, energy, marketing, technology and science developed and tested interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral ICT concepts. These concepts were developed to optimise electricity supply at all stages, from production and transport right up to distribution and consumption.
BMWi State Secretary Anne Ruth Herkes commented: "The transformation of the energy system is a key task for policy makers, the business sector and society. In the future a greater share of our energy in Germany will come from renewable energy sources. This is why it is vital to expand and modernise the power grids. The E-Energy model regions have shown that the use of information and communications technology can make an important contribution to the successful transformation of the energy system."
BMU State Secretary Jürgen Becker stated: "To make the transition to the age of renewable energy, it will be necessary to thoroughly modernise the energy sector. In order to achieve this we need intelligent coordination between electricity producers, consumers and storage units. The E-Energy projects clearly demonstrate how this can work in practice. They have shown us first hand what it means for us to have smart grids and that they are feasible.
The six model regions in the "E-Energy" programme have demonstrated that the energy consumption of private households can be reduced by up to ten percent using intelligent energy systems and appropriate incentive mechanisms. There is even room for further savings in commercial enterprises.
The BMWi and BMU made 60 million euro available for the model projects. In addition to this the business sector contributed a further 80 million euro to the model projects for the research and testing of new ICT supported energy systems.
More information on the model regions and the E-Energy international conference, and a live broadcast of the conference can be found at: http://www.e-energy.de/en